Nadal, Davydenko lead men into Australian Open fourth round

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

MELBOURNE (AFP) — Rafael Nadal used his get out of jail card while Nikolay Davydenko rallied his way from the baseline into the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday.

Nadal, the Spanish world number two, fought off six first set points to seal a 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 win over French 28th seed Gilles Simon in two hours 26 minutes.

Nadal, bidding to win his first Australian title and in doing so capture the elusive world number one ranking off Roger Federer, has another Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu next up.

If he overcomes the 23rd French seed on Sunday he could face American sixth seed Andy Roddick in the quarter-finals.

Roddick takes on German 29th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in a third round match later Friday.

Low-profile fourth seed...